


Aquamarine

by fauxghost



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Keith has a fear of water, Lifeguard Allura, Lifeguard Shiro, M/M, Merperson Lance (Voltron), Photographer Keith, Pining Keith (Voltron), Slow Burn, based on the movie aquamarine, broganes, oblivious lance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-18
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-01-19 06:37:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12405018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fauxghost/pseuds/fauxghost
Summary: “If you help a merman, you get a wish.”Lance has two weeks on land to prove to his father that true love exists, before he is turned back into a merman and forced into an arranged marriage.Keith desperately needs a wish, but he gets more than he bargained for when he starts falling for Lance.(currently on hiatus - will probably be deleted soon because i plan on rewriting it)





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my first voltron fic! hope you enjoy :)

“Keith, don’t you dare walk out that door.”

“You’re not in charge of me, Shiro!” 

“Actually, yes, I-”

Keith slammed the door behind him, and Shiro had the sense not to follow. The night air was filled with tension, like the dark clouds above were ready to break open at any moment and drench everything in unforgiving rain. It was late, and everything was silent except for the ocean and the wind. Keith hadn’t bothered to grab a jacket on his way out, so he shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, heading to the shed for refuge from the wind. It was an usually cold summer night, reminding Keith that autumn was approaching quickly.

There were a few blankets stored in the shed from when Shiro and Keith used to build forts and bundle up in them as kids, back before everything went to shit. This used to be their favorite place to hang out, and was still decked out with a small couch, some of their favorite books, and a few toys and stuffed animals from when they were younger. Lining the walls were some of Shiro’s surfboards. Keith slumped onto the ratty couch and pulled the blankets around himself. It was almost midnight, and it probably wasn’t a good idea to be out there during a storm, but Keith was too stubborn to go back to his house. The last thing he wanted to do was to face Shiro after an argument like that. They had been butting heads for weeks, but this was the worst time yet. 

_ “I’m thinking about your future, Keith. You don’t realize how-” _

_ “No, you’re only thinking about yourself! I’m not you, Shiro!” _

_ “I’m not the one being selfish. What do you think mom and dad would say about this?” _

Keith shuddered, not from the cold this time. Outside, thunder rumbled and the clouds opened up. The rain crashed onto the pavement relentlessly, and the wind seemed to shake the thin walls of the shed. Keith laid down and tried to get comfortable, but he knew he wouldn’t be falling asleep anytime soon. His thoughts were even louder than the storm, pounding in his head like restless waves. All he could think about was that he only had two weeks of freedom left, and the fact that the those weeks were inevitably going to be filled with more fighting with his brother. A fight he was bound to lose anyway.

He needed a miracle.

 

Keith wasn’t sure how long he laid there, listening to the raging storm. Eventually, there was a pounding at the door. “Keith?”

“Shiro?” Keith got up and opened the door. “What are you doing out here?”

Shiro was soaked from the rain. The storm was even worse than Keith had thought. “Keith, please come inside. You shouldn’t be out here in this weather.” He was yelling to be heard over the storm, but his voice was still gentle.

Keith didn’t bother fighting, and stepped outside. The wind whipped through his long hair. For a split second, lighting flashed and lit up the scene before him. Their house was close enough to the beach for them to see giant waves crashing over the shore, bigger than Keith had even seen. They washed over the beach with a fury. Both Keith and Shiro stared in amazement. “I hope no one’s out in that.”

_ Ever the lifeguard.  _ “No one is enough of an idiot to be outside in this weather.”

Shiro smirked at Keith. “Except us.”

Keith couldn’t help but laugh, his anger from earlier slowly dissipating. Together, they walked back inside.

 

The next morning, Keith stared out his window in shock. The sky showed no evidence of last night’s storm, as sunny as ever, but the ground below him looked like something out of a movie. The storm had wrecked havoc on their yard, and, from the looks of it, the rest of the neighborhood. There was trash, parts of broken beach chairs, and other wreckage all over the place. Their pool cover had blown off at some point during the night, and the pool seemed to be filled to the brim with murky ocean water and bits of seaweed. Shiro was already outside, cleaning up and talking to their neighbor and fellow lifeguard, Allura.

Keith glanced back at the pool, thinking he saw something moving in the water, but he couldn’t tell what it was. He threw on some clothes and ran outside. Once he was out the door, Shiro chucked a trash bag at him. “Hey, glad you’re up. Plenty of work to do.”

Allura smiled at Keith in greeting, and then went back to helping Shiro. Allura was always nice to him, but Keith wasn’t very close to her, or any of Shiro’s lifeguard friends. He didn’t connect well with people in general, but it might’ve had something to do with his aversion to water. No one really seemed to understand it, other than Shiro. Breaking out of his thoughts, Keith said, “I think I saw something in the pool.”

Shiro nodded, sighing. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure half the ocean ended up in the pool.”

“No, I saw something moving.”

“A fish?”

“I’m not sure.” Keith moved closer to the pool hesitantly. Shiro shrugged and went back to work.

It was hard to see anything in the pool to due to the dirty ocean water and various pieces of seaweed and trash floating around, but Keith thought he could see something moving at the bottom of the pool. Something big. Mesmerized, Keith stepped forward to lean in closer, but slipped. 

The next the he knew, everything was muffled and he was surrounded by water. 

For a moment, the world around him was still and serene, and Keith swore he heard light, airy humming, a haunting tune that seemed to be coming from all around him. Keith saw what looked like a long, blue tail. He struggled to keep his eyes open, and it was gone in a flash. Before he could register what was happening, strong arms were around him and he was being pulled out of the water by Shiro and Allura, who had both immediately jumped in the pool to save him. 

Keith laid on the pavement, gasping for breath. Allura found a dry towel and Shiro wrapped it around him. “Keith? Are you okay?”

As soon as he could breathe again, Keith yelled, “I saw something in there, there’s something in the pool!” 

“What did you see?” Shiro asked.

“I-I don’t know…” Keith shivered. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been in the water like that. “It was huge, Shiro. I swear, I saw something in there.”

Allura was leaning over the pool. “I don’t see anything.”

“You were only in there for a second, Keith. It was probably just a fish.”

Keith shook his head, sputtering. “No! I.. It was… It wasn’t a fish, it was, I don’t know. I could  _ hear  _ it, it was  _ singing,  _ Shiro!” 

Shiro looked at him with concern. “You probably didn’t get much sleep last night. Why don’t you go dry off and lay down?” 

“You don’t believe me…” Keith was finally coming back to his senses and realizing how crazy he sounded. But he knew he saw something in there. That song… he couldn’t have imagined it.

“I’ll check it out.” Shiro assured him, but he still didn’t sound convinced.

Defeated, Keith headed back inside and took a much needed warm shower, but he couldn’t get the haunting tune out of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes, this is based off the movie aquamarine. if you have seen it, don't worry because i'm not going to follow it exactly! and if you haven't seen it, GO WATCH IT AND EXPERIENCE THE ICONIC MOVIE OF MY CHILDHOOD.  
> anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter, please comment your thoughts :)
> 
> (ps: keith and shiro have the same parents in this fic, you will find out more about them later)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 

Later that night, Keith snuck out. 

He was strangely determined to prove that there was something in the pool, even though Shiro had come in after lifeguard duty and assured him that nothing was there, and that he was going to clean out the pool tomorrow anyway. Keith just wanted to prove that he wasn’t crazy, and this time he was ready. He brought various kinds of fish food, his camera, and a pack of gummy worms (the gummy worms were for him). 

Sneaking out was easy enough, since it was just him and Shiro in the house. Thankfully the two had been on better terms today, mostly because Shiro thought Keith was shaken up from falling in the pool. (He was right.) Keith almost shivered when he saw the pool again. Shiro was usually the only person who used it, since Keith had stopped swimming years ago. After their parents drowned in a boating accident when they were younger, Keith became panicky around water and stopped swimming altogether, while Shiro became a dedicated lifeguard, saving people from having the same fate as their parents.

Keith ran his fingers through his hair and took a breath, trying to shake himself out of those thoughts. He had to focus.

Kneeling by the pool, he tried to peer in but he couldn’t see anything. Even with the full moon above him, was too dark to tell what could be under the water. Feeling curiously unafraid, he leaned in closer. “Well… here goes nothing.” Keith said to himself, and then dumped some fish food into the pool. Next, he got his camera ready for whatever was about to happen.

And… nothing.

No signs of movement came from the water. The night was perfectly still. Impatiently, he threw some more food into the pool, unfortunately knocking his perfectly good gummy worms in with it. He waited for a while, feeling slightly ridiculous, and then sighed. Maybe Shiro was right - he had imagined it after all. Feeling defeated but not quite ready to quit, he sat down and fiddled with the settings on his camera.

His camera was brand new - he had been saving up for it for ages. This was one of the first opportunities he had to use it. Maybe he could stay outside for a while and find something to photograph, might as well not waste time waiting around the pool. 

“Hey, do you have any more of the squishy ones? Those are great!” 

Keith shrieked, jumping and dropping his camera into his lap. There was a person staring up at him from the pool with a wide smile. 

_ No…. not a person.  _ Keith eyed the long blue tail and froze.  _ Holy shit. _

“You’re… You’re a… Oh my god, you’re…” 

The boy wore an amused look. Suddenly, he swam forward and put his arms on the pavement, lifting himself up so they were face to face. “Wow. I’ve never seen a human this close before.”

His eyes were shockingly blue. Keith finally found his voice. “You’re a… mermaid.”

The boy dropped back down into the water and huffed. “Merman.” He swam around casually, moving gracefully through the water. His tail was light blue, standing out against the murky dark water of the pool. At his waist, the scales faded into tan skin. There was something elegant yet playful about the way he swam.

Unable to look away, Keith felt for the camera in his lap and lifted it. Before he could make another move, the merman lifted his tail with ease and splashed Keith with cold water. Keith gasped, standing up. “...What the fuck?”  
The boy smiled and twirled around in the water. “No pictures. You can touch it, though.” He referenced his tail.

“I don’t care _what_ you are, nobody fucks with my camera.” Keith wrapped his arms around it protectively. _Am I seriously arguing with a mermaid…_ merman _right now?_ _  
_ The merman’s smile never faltered. He swam closer to Keith, resting his arms on the pavement. “Sorry. But if you took a picture of me, I’d have to drown you.”

Keith flinched, backing away.

“I’m kidding!” He cackled. “Sort of.”

Keith just stared, open-mouthed, in awe of this strange but beautiful creature that somehow ended up in his pool.

“The offer still stands.” The boy lifted his tail and patted it, raising his eyebrows at Keith. 

It took Keith a second to realize what he was talking about. Unable to stop himself, he kneeled down and reached out tentatively. 

“I don’t bite.”  
Keith took a breath. “Right… you just… drown people.” 

That made him laugh even harder. His laugh was enchanting, almost musical. “I’m Lance.”

“I’m Keith.”

“ _ Keith.”  _ He repeated. “Human names are funny.”

Keith’s arm was still hovering over the water. Lance lifted his tail more, pressing it against Keith’s hand. “ _ Oh. _ ” It was smoother than Keith expected. The shiny blue scales reflected moonlight. 

“Pretty nice, huh?” Lance grinned, obviously very proud of his tail. “I was serious about the squishy things, by the way. Do you have any more?”

“Gummy worms?”

“Gummy… worms?” Lance looked disgusted. “You fed me worms?”

Keith looked at him incredulously. “I didn’t  _ feed  _ you them, they just fell in the pool. And they’re not real worms.” 

Lance looked at Keith like  _ he  _ was the strange mythical creature. “Not real worms? Then what are they?” 

It occurred to Keith that this interaction was probably strange for Lance, too. He opened his mouth to answer about the gummy worms, but was distracted by Lance, who was swimming again. This time he was humming as he moved through the water, with a quiet but lovely voice. It was the same captivating tune from earlier. Keith stared shamelessly at Lance, following the movements of his sleek tail, entranced by his silky voice. Lance caught him staring but just smiled and swam back over, once again resting his hands on the edge of the pool. Keith missed the humming as soon as it stopped.

He tried to find his voice. “Did… Did end up in my pool because of the storm?”

Lance sighed. “I let it happen.”

“What do you mean?” Keith forgot all cautiousness and sat down, placing his camera by his side. Lance eyed it warily but thankfully didn’t splash it again.

“Well, my dad’s mad at me because I ran away from home a week before I was supposed to marry this mermaid who’s about as deep as a tidal pool.” Lance rolled his eyes. “My dad freaked out and created that huge storm, and I just let the waves take me even further away. Jokes on him, I guess.”

That was a lot to take in. “Wait, your dad…  _ created _ the storm?” 

Lance nodded like it was no big deal. “King of the merpeople. He can control the weather.”

“Oh. That’s… wow.” Keith didn’t know what else to say.

“Was it you that jumped in here earlier?”

It took Keith a second to realize what he was talking about. “Uh… Actually I fell in.”

Lance laughed again and looked Keith up and down. “You would.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Lance laughed and laughed, which probably should have offended Keith but he was too distracted by the merman’s smile. Trying to suppress a grin, Keith said, “You should be nice to me if you want more gummy worms.”

“I don’t want your worms.”

“I told you, they’re not really-”

“Keith?” A voice came from behind him, making Keith jump. Lance disappeared into the water. It was Shiro. “I knew I heard something out here. What are you doing?”

“Um… I…” Keith eyed his camera and the lie came to him easily. “I wanted to test the night settings on my new camera.”  
Fortunately, Shiro believed him. “It’s really late. You should come inside.” 

“Just… let me finish. Please?” Keith couldn’t leave just yet. “Five more minutes.”

Shiro shrugged, obviously not wanting to push Keith’s buttons. “Okay, fine. Five more minutes.”

Once Shiro was back inside, Keith kneeled down by the pool and whispered, “It’s safe now… Lance?” 

Lance slowly emerged from the water. “Who was that?”

Keith took in the sight of the merman again, still in awe. “My brother. Listen, I have to go back inside.” 

“Wait! Don’t leave, Keith!” Lance grabbed his hand.

Lance’s hand was cold and soft. Keith noticed that his nails were painted silver. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

With that, Keith let go of Lance’s hand and made his way back inside, still trying to process what just happened. From his window, he looked down at the pool, but Lance was already out of sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keith and lance have finally met! <3  
> i have no idea what the uploading schedule for this story is gonna be like because i'm doing nanowrimo this november, so i will be focused on a different story. i'll try to update when i can though.   
> hope you enjoyed this chapter! comment ur thoughts!!


	3. Chapter 3

Keith woke up the next morning to the sounds of the ocean and seagulls squawking. He stood up and stretched, feeling warm and content despite the anxiety that had been hanging over him for the past few weeks. Last night he dreamed of inviting blue eyes and eerie yet beautiful song, coming from …  _ Shit. _

That wasn’t a dream.

Keith rushed to his window, and his heart stopped when he saw the pool, completely drained. No water, no seaweed, no merman. Throwing on some random clothes, he ran down the stairs and made his way outside. Shiro was next to the pool, finishing up the job.

“What have you done?” The frantic words escaped Keith’s mouth before he had a chance to think about what he was saying.

Shiro looked up at him, confused. “...I drained the pool.”

No Lance in sight.  _ Okay…. Maybe that was all a dream. A really weird, stupid,  _ beautiful  _ dream.  _ Keith almost managed to convince himself, until he heard a noise coming from the shed. He had no idea how Lance would’ve gotten in there.

“Keith? Are you alright?” Shiro asked with a concerned tone that Keith was all too familiar with.

Keith nodded, trying to smile casually. “I’m great!” 

Shiro nodded, although he didn’t look convinced. “I gotta head to the beach for lifeguard duty. See you later?”

“That’s perfect!” Keith exclaimed. “I mean, uh… yes. See you later.”  _ Smooth. _

Shiro, who definitely thought he was crazy at that point, just laughed it off and headed out. Keith used to hate how busy Shiro was, but now he was grateful for it. It gave his brother no time to confront Keith about how strange he had been acting. It also gave them zero time to resolve their arguments from the past few weeks, but Keith pushed that thought aside for now. He walked over to the shed as calmly as he could and stepped inside. Just as he closed the door and looked around, Lance popped up from behind the couch, holding a up a pillow like he was about to start the most intense pillow fight in history. The couch blocked everything below Lance’s waist, so Keith couldn’t be sure what he was seeing, but Lance seemed to be… standing?

“Oh, it’s you!” Lance lowered the pillow, relieved. “I thought you were that big muscle man with the sucking machine!” 

Keith stared at Lance in amazement, half amused by the fact that Lance planned to take Shiro on with a pillow, and half in awe at the fact that, yes, Lance was standing upright. Which could only mean one thing… “Lance, how did you get in here?”

“With these!” Lance grinned and lifted up a  _ leg,  _ before losing his balance and falling over.

“You… You have legs.” Keith stated.  _ Very naked legs. _

“Yes! I have legs!” Lance laughed excitedly. He seemed to sense Keith’s discomfort and grabbed a blanket off the couch to wrap around himself before walking closer. He moved slowly, trying to get used to his new legs.

Keith found himself speechless for the thousandth time. Even without the tail, Lance was enchanting. His eyes gleamed bluer than the ocean, and his tan skin seemed to glisten even though it was dry. Not to mention, he looked pretty adorable wrapped in Keith’s fuzzy red blanket. 

If Lance noticed Keith’s silent staring, he didn’t make anything of it. He moved closer, eyes twinkling. “And you know what  _ else  _ I got?” 

Keith blushed. “Um, I think I already know…”

“Feet!” Lance exclaimed, holding his foot out and wiggling his toes.

Keith felt ashamed that his mind had gone to a very different place, but couldn’t help letting out a giggle at the ridiculousness of it all. “What happened to your tail?”

Lance was continued walking around on his new feet, circling the small shed. He stumbled with almost every step, but he looked like he was having the time of his life. “If merpeople leave the water, we get legs. As long as I keep dry, I get to keep them!”

“That’s-” Keith was cut off by the rumbling of thunder overhead. He could’ve sworn it was sunny five minutes ago. 

Lance continued obviously, “They’ll turn back into a tail after sunset, though.”

“Did you say you have to stay dry?” Keith asked slowly.

“Yup.” Lance bounced up and down with excitement.

Keith opened the door to the shed, looking outside. The sky was covered in dark clouds, exactly like the storm from two nights ago. There was a chill in the air, even though the sky had been completely clear before Keith entered the shed. Thunder rumbled again, causing Lance to rush over to Keith and stare at the oncoming storm. “Oh, no!”

“Come on, you need to get inside before you get wet.” Keith made sure no one was around to see naked Lance and then left the shed. Lance trailed behind him.

“It’s my father,” Lance was saying. “It has to be.”

“Your father’s creating the storm? Why?” Keith yelled over another bout of thunder. They got inside Keith’s house just before it started pouring rain. 

“He’s mad at me for running away from home! What am I going to do?” Lance cried, staring out the window as rain washed over everything in sight. For once, he was wearing a distraught expression instead of his usual carefree smile. 

Keith’s mind went to Shiro, currently at the beach on lifeguard duty. It was nerve wracking to think he was out in this kind of weather. “Can you make it stop?”

Lance turned to him, looking more vulnerable than ever, drowning in the fuzzy fabric of Keith’s blanket. “Only if I go back.” 

Lightning flashed. Keith was sure they’d be evacuating the beach by now, but he didn’t feel good about Shiro being there. At the same time… he wasn’t ready for Lance to leave just yet. “There has to be something we can do.”

“Do you have any shells?” Lance asked, looking around the room with urgency.

“What?” 

“Shells, Keith! I need a shell.” Lance was getting more frantic, but seemed slightly excited, like somehow a shell was the solution. “A big shell, one you can hear the ocean with.”

“Um… follow me.” Keith wasn’t sure what Lance was getting at, but hopefully this would help stop the storm. They run upstairs to Keith’s room. On his nightstand was a large seashell.

“Perfect!” Lance exclaimed, holding it up to his ear.

“How is this supposed to help?” 

“Shush!” Lance threw Keith an annoyed expression, but the explained, “If you can hear the ocean through it, the ocean can hear you back.”

_ A shellphone,  _ Keith marvelled. 

“Father?” 

Keith couldn’t make out what was on the other end. It sounded garbled and well, underwater. 

Lance grew more exasperated at whatever his dad said. “Father, you have to stop this storm! People are going to get hurt!”

More noise from the other end. Lighting flashed outside. From his window, Keith could see part of the beach, but couldn’t really tell what was going on, or how bad it was. He was too far away to tell if Shiro was still there.

“But that’s your plan, not mine!” Lance’s nail color, previously silver, shifted to a bright red. “I don’t to marry some spoiled, rich… squid!” 

Outside, thunder seemed to rumble furiously in response.

“Love is not a myth, father! It’s real.” Lance yelled with conviction. “If I’m wrong, I’ll honor your plans. Please, father, let me prove it to you.”

More yelling from the other end of the… shellphone.

“Fine! Two weeks is all I need. I’ll prove it, father.” Lance promises. “Yes, I’ll call you every night, just calm down!”

With that, Lance slammed the shell back onto Keith’s nightstand and groaned. The storm retreated just as quickly as it came, the clouds shrinking into nothingness and the sky turning bright blue. Lance joined Keith by the window, watching the storm disappear until the only evidence of the rain was the wet pavement below. Lance met Keith’s eyes, his expression serious. “I have to find love.” 

“What do you mean?” Their faces were so close, Keith felt the need to fix his hair.

Lance sighs. “We don’t have it where I’m from, and if I can’t find it in two weeks… I’m sunk.”

“You… you don’t have love?” Keith replied in awe. 

“Nope. My father says it’s just a myth - we all marry who our parents pick. That’s why I ran away in the first place. He says I can only get out of my wedding if I can prove to him that love exists. But I only have two weeks.”

“But if you don’t have love,” Keith asked, “how do you know it exists?”

“I saw it once.” Lance replied simply, his eyes bearing into Keith’s. “And I want it.”

Keith blushed.

Lance’s gaze moved out to the window, where none other than Allura was walking down the sidewalk with her rescue board, heading to lifeguard duty. “With  _ her _ !” 

Keith’s jaw drops. “With Allura?”

“Allura!” Lance exclaims, beaming. “Allura is the one I love!”

While Keith was frozen in place, Lance ran down the stairs, presumably going to declare his love for Allura. 

_ Oh, for fucks sake,  _ Keith thought, breaking out of his shock, trying not to feel disappointed, and rushing after Lance to stop him from confronting Allura wearing nothing but a blanket. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg i finally updated what a miracle!!  
> i kind of lost motivation for this fic but its back baby!!  
> HOPEFULLY i will start updating regularly but i cant make promises lol. hope you enjoyed this chapter, pls leave a comment (if you want)   
> <3


	4. Chapter 4

**KEITH**

“Lance!” I run after him, feet pounding down the stairs. “Lance, wait up!”

Thankfully, Lance is still getting used to running on his new feet and I manage to catch up with him quickly. “Keith, she’s getting away!” 

“Lance, you need to put some clothes on!” I yell.

At that, Lance finally stops running and looks at me. “Huh?”

“Clothes.” I insist. “You can’t just go out there without clothes on!” 

“Oh…” Lance glances at the red blanket draped around him. “I don’t have any clothes.”

I roll my eyes. “You can borrow mine, come on.”

Lance follows me back up the stairs with reluctance, mumbling, “She’s getting away.”

“It’s fine, I know where she’s going.” I’m grudgingly going along with this. “She’s heading to the beach.”

“The beach!” Lance exclaims dramatically while I rummage through my drawers, trying to find something acceptable. “I’ll get wet, or father will drag me into the depths! Our love is doomed!” 

“Here,” I say, pushing some random clothes into Lance’s arms. 

I stand outside the door while Lance gets dressed, remarking about every item of clothing. “Ooh, a human shirt! It’s the same color as my tail!” “Do the small pants go under the big ones? Why do I have to wear two pants?” “Why do you even wear clothes? You’re weird, Keith.”

“All humans wear clothes, Lance.”

Lance opens the door once he’s finished. He almost looks like a normal teenager with the blue shirt and black shorts that I gave him, but there’s still something about him that seems otherworldly. The silvery-blue glint in his eyes, the musical lilt to his voice. He’s more enchanting than any human I’ve ever seen. 

“How do I look?”

I meet Lance’s eyes and then look away. “Good. I mean, fine. I mean… let’s go find Allura.”

Lance grins with excitement and rushes past me, narrowly avoiding falling down the stairs on his clumsy legs. “Yes! Let’s go!”

He barrels out the front door, not waiting for instruction from me, running in the direction that Allura went. I’m panting after him, “Don't be weird! And don't get wet!”

When we finally make it to the beach, I’m completely out of breath while Lance is bouncing with anticipation. It’s the perfect summer day, and I can’t help but admire the way the sun hits Lance’s skin. As long as Lance stays away from the water, he should be safe from turning back into a merman. Allura is leaning against the lifeguard chair, surveying the beach. Shiro must be on break, which is a relief because I have no idea how I’m going to explain who Lance is or why he’s wearing my clothes.

Lance turns to me, blue eyes deeper than the ocean. “Time to prove my father wrong.”

“Okay. Just… be chill.” 

“Chill?” Lance squints, confused. “Why would I want to be cold?” 

“I mean, be cool. Act natural. Don’t declare your love for her or anything.” I can already feel the sun burning my skin - I usually avoid going outside without slathering on sunscreen, but I’ve been kind of distracted.

“Why not?”

“Because…”  _ Does this really need explaining?  _ “She doesn’t even know who you are yet.”

“I don’t need your help, Keith.” Lance smile twists into a flirty grin. “She’s going to take one look at me, and desperately in love.”

I watch as Lance saunters his way over to Allura, waiting for either a catastrophe or a miracle.

 

**LANCE**

Keith is silly, with his long hair and broody eyebrows. (The long hair actually suits him.) (In a silly way.) I can tell he doubts me, not as much as father does, but he doubts me. I need to ask him about love, whether he’s felt it, what it’s like, but right now I’m determined to find it on my own. Allura is right in front of me, and she almost looks like someone father would approve of. She’s regal, standing on the sandy beach like she owns the place. She’s beautiful. Her eyes meet mine as I come closer.

Time to turn on the charm. 

“Allura.” I say, grinning.

“Hello. Do I know you?”

“The name’s Lance.” I smirk. I feel so different from when Keith first found me in his pool. I was terrified back then. I had fun talking to him, but I was trapped in a strange pool, alone in a world of humans, running from my home. Now I have my own two legs, a friend in Keith (I think), and two weeks to prove to my father that love exists. I’m going to do it, no matter what. 

“Are you a friend of Keith’s?” Allura asks, eyeing Keith, who’s standing a few feet behind us, looking away when we look back at him.

“I am.” I respond. I don’t want to talk about Keith, I want to talk about love.

She smiles fondly. “He must really like you if you got him to come to the beach.”

I don’t know what that means, but again. This isn’t about Keith, this is about proving my father wrong, making my own future. “Actually, I came here for you.”

“For me?” 

“Yes,” I smile hopefully. “Allura… do you love me?”

She coughs. “...What?”

“Do you love me?” I repeat, feeling nervous but hiding it with another smile.

“Did Hunk and Pidge put you up to this?” Allura puts her hands on her hips, her face annoyed.

This isn’t going how I expected. “Who?” 

“Listen, Lance,” Allura looks at me skeptically. “I think you’re cute, but I really need to get back to work.” 

“Right.” I say, defeated. “Well.. I’ll just go, then.”

“Tell Pidge she’s  _ hilarious. _ ” Allura says it like she means the opposite of hilarious.

I still don’t know who Pidge is.

 

**KEITH**

Lance walks away from Allura, looking dejected. 

“Update.” He smiles at me sheepishly. “I need your help.”

“What did you do?” I ask, waving at Allura awkwardly before walking away. We find some random beach chairs and Lance collapses on one, pouting.

He frowns. “She doesn’t love me.”

“You  _ asked  _ her?” I gawk at him. I knew he had no understanding of love, but I didn’t know it was this bad.

“She says I’m ‘cute’.  _ Starfish  _ are cute! I need her to love me!” Lance cries. “Ugh, I need some salt.”

I try to hold it in, but I can’t help it. I laugh.

“What’s so funny?”

“Love doesn’t work like that, Lance.” 

Lance sits up, narrowing his eyes. “How does it work?”

“Well, it isn’t… uh, it isn’t automatic.” I feel ridiculous, knowing I have no experience with love. “You have to get to know the person first. Like, I don’t know, hang out. Go on dates?”

“Hang… out?”

“It means spending time together.” I explain.

“I hardly have any time…” Lance looks out to the ocean nervously, and then back at me with a serious expression. “You have to help me.”

“Lance, I-” Part of me doesn’t want to let him down, but how does he expect me to help? And why me? “I don’t know if I can. I mean, everyone on this beach is after Allura, and-”

He cuts me off. “Are you?” 

“What?”

“Are you after Allura?” 

“No, but that’s because I’m… well, it doesn’t matter. Almost everyone is after Allura. And besides that, I have no reason to help you.” It comes out harsher than I mean it to.

“Fine.” Lance says, standing up. “Then I guess you don’t get your wish.”

“Wish? What do you mean?” I stand up with him, trying to see if he’s joking or not.

Lance shrugs. “If you help a merman, you get a wish.” 

Now I’m interested. “Seriously?”

“Any wish you could wish for.” Lance taunts. He can tell I’m tempted.

The ocean breeze circles around us, and it feels like the world is suddenly filled with possibilities. “You’re telling me that if I help get Allura to fall for you, you’ll grant my wish? Any wish I want?”

Lance nods enthusiastically. “Any wish. As long as it doesn’t violate the laws of nature, you can have anything you want.” 

I think back to the night the first storm came, the one that brought Lance to me. I was praying for a miracle that night, and now I found one. This wish could change everything for me. 

Lance is grinning at me, he knows I’m sold.

“I’ll help you.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes i changed to first person pretense tense. i'm sorry but it was driving my crazy to write the other way, i kept slipping into pretense tense!! i'm probably going to go back and edit the earlier chapters so they’re all like this one. i hope this change is ok, its so much easier for me to write this way.  
> sorry for the slowww updating, i keep getting writers block for this fic.  
> happy holidays everyone <3


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